Dr Thomas Tsang, a member of the government’s task force on the pandemic, says key is whether the aged with chronic illnesses have their conditions under control First 1 million doses of mainland China’s Sinovac vaccines landed in city on Friday, with mass drive to start next week Dr Thomas Tsang, a member of the government’s task force on the pandemic, says key is whether the aged with chronic illnesses have their conditions under control. Hong Kong is expected to record about 15 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, according to a source, while a top medical expert assured the public that China’s Sinovac vaccine was safe for elderly people who were in stable condition. The fresh cases are expected to be officially announced in the afternoon, a day after the city confirmed 13 infections . Earlier on Saturday, medical experts said senior citizens could still take the Sinovac vaccines if their health conditions were under control, but pregnant women and mothers who were breastfeeding were advised not to do so. “Many of the elderly have high blood pressure, diabetes or other chronic health problems. The key is whether you have controlled your conditions. If that’s the case, then you will have no problems getting vaccinated,” said Dr Thomas Tsang Ho-fai, a member of the government’s vaccination task force. Tsang, formerly the controller of the Centre for Health Protection, told a radio programme that both the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines were safe to use. Hong Kong rediscovers joy of evening restaurant meals as Covid-19 rules eased Residents could decide on their vaccine choices, he added, noting personally that he would simply choose which vaccine centre was closest to his house in Eastern district. On Friday, the first 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccines finally arrived, with the city set to kick off its mass inoculation drive next week. The BioNTech vaccines, co-developed by firms in Germany and the United States, will arrive in Hong Kong by the end of the month. Officials have repeatedly appealed to the public to take the jabs, even though doubts were raised over the Sinovac version, which had an overall efficacy rate of about 62.3 per cent. By comparison, the BioNTech vaccine rate is about 95 per cent. Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, another government adviser on the pandemic, said on Saturday that pregnant women and those breastfeeding were not advised to take the Sinovac shots.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.